Animal
by Reyser
Summary: Written for KoopalingFan's Contest! For I was once a Hero, but now I have become an animal, overcome by blood-lust and lost within my own insane reality. For in this twisted, cruel, Goddess-forsaken arena-there is no escape. Implied LxZ. Includes minor violence and character death. One-shot.


**It's late...and I felt like writing...so, here I am! For KoopaLingFan's Contest. I know I won't win, but I've always wanted to write this...so... :D Implied Zelink. Link's point-of-view.**

**I worked super hard on this, so I hope you enjoy!**

**WARNING: Includes minor violence and character death.**

**...**

Blood. Sweat. Tears. Death.

That's all I ever saw in this twisted, wicked, Goddess-forsaken arena. We are pitted against all we have—friends, family, people we despise, and those we love. It's a cruel game, a twisted reality, where the only thing that I'll ever hear is the screams of those echoing in my mind.

They're screaming, being devoured by death. And it's my fault.

Screams. Echoes. Why?

That's all they ask, a simple question, a simple tortuous, _murderous _question. They ask 'why?' Why has the great Hero of Twilight sunken so low? Am I truly willing to kill everyone just for the sake of my life?

Even though I once stood as a proud Hero, a saviour of Hyrule, now I am nothing more but a machine. To kill. Hungering for blood-shed. I am used to killing, used to the path I've chosen. I never look back.

Dances with blades. Whispers. And yet more blood.

The swords dance against another, clashing, twirling, puppets to death's song. Never out of move, so mesmerizing. The smell of adrenaline is thick, the tension unbearable.

I long to breath.

Three. Two. One. My blade is stronger, presses harder. He gasps, staggering backwards, holding a hand to his chest. Pain is behind his eyes, pain so unbearable I look away. My blade is tainted scarlet with his blood. Wiping it clean, I walk away, not bothering to watch his lifeless body fall to the ground.

Stares. Murmurs. Rumours. Lies.

As I walk through the halls, I feel their eyes. They stare at me, murmuring rumours and lies. But I don't care. For eventually, it is them who will fall by my hand; by my blade. They are all cowards. At a mere glimpse of me, they cower in the corner, overwhelmed with fear and emotion.

Emotions are what will bring me down, what will corrupt me, what will stop me from succeeding. I cannot allow that to happen. Never.

Insanity. Silence. Fear.

Everyone is getting restless. Many are dead, perhaps by my hand. Fear is biting at us all—but I do not let it get the best of me. Many are going insane, losing hope, losing their grip on life. They are weak. And I promise _never _to be like them.

It's cruel, insane, paradoxical, my existence in this arena. Is it really reality or is it just a twisted game that replays in my mind? Or is just a lie? Is everything a lie? Is the life I've worked so hard to make work just an illusion?

But alas, as a mortal, what concept do I have of such deafening confusion?

Suspicions. Questions that will never be answered. Loneliness.

What am I saying? Am I...perhaps, lonely in this tortuous abyss of fighting? Am I? I push that horrendous thought away. I am who I am, a solo Hero. No need for emotions, no need for loneliness. And yet there is a pang in my heart when I see somebody with their friends, smiles that will never be mine. They catch me staring, and I look away stubbornly.

A midnight sky. Whispers from the moon. Sitting out in the garden, alone.

I look up to the sky and ponder my life. I could blame the arena—I could blame the Goddesses, I could blame anybody for the dark path I chose. But deep inside, I know that it is truly nobody else's fault but my own.

I look up to the moon; hear its whispers, its calls, its cries. It resonates within my head, again, and again. There is no freedom from this hell they call a game.

"..Are you alright?" I turn around, and see a young woman walking towards me.

There is wisdom beyond her eyes behind those crystalline blue eyes, her chin is high, and her voice is full of grace and elegance. I recognize her as Zelda, the princess of Hyrule. _My _princess.

I open my mouth, but shut it immediately and tear my eyes away from her to look to the ground. I hear her footsteps. She approaches me, and sits down on the bench beside me.

I hear nothing but deafening silence.

"You've heard the rumours, haven't you?" I say at last. My tone of voice is cold, cruel. Icy.

She sighs. I see the faintest trace of a smile grace her lips.

"...I have." Her answer is simple, plain, yet so confusing within itself.

"And you believe them?" I inquire, meeting her gaze with stormy blue eyes. "Do you believe that I am a cold-hearted, ruthless, blood-thirsty murderer?"

She sighs again, and looks deep into my eyes. I am breathless for a moment, lost within the depths of her serene, crystalline eyes. She puts her hand on mine gently.

"I believe..." She says slowly, a smile gracing her beautiful face, "that there is good in everyone."

I freeze at her words. Does she truly believe that there is good in everyone? Even a tainted, murderous Hero like myself?

And just like that, she stands up, long skirts whirling about her, and walks away, leaving me alone once more.

I feel a tiny shred of hope in her words, a tiny bit filling up that worrisome hole in my heart..but I push it away.

For before I know it, she will be gone, just like how everyone else is taken from me in this arena.

Rain. Smoke. Pain. My newest battle.

Everyone knows I will win my next battle, just like I always have. I have the spirit of a fighter—and I make it my goal to win everything.

The skies are crying, dropping their tears to the ground, singing to me with lightning and thunder. Bitter.

Everything suddenly seems so bitter. The tiny shred of happiness I had feels like a sin, and light seems so far away. Eternity seems like a legend of broken promises. I clench my teeth and grasp the hilt of my sword so tight my knuckles begin to pale.

Lights flash, and I hear the constant cheering of the crowd. They do not know that they cheer for an animal, an untamed beast, a blood-thirsty warrior.

When I see who I am fighting, it nearly stops my heart.

_She _is there. The Hylian princess. My insides lurch, and I stagger forward, before regaining my composure.

Her eyes are closed, and she has a faint smile on her face.

I grit my teeth. So many emotions rush through me at one time. Confusion, fear, anxiety, and animalistic blood lust.

_No, I cannot..._

I come close to her, a full head taller than her, and wait for her to blast me with her powerful magic, to finish my poor life.

It never comes.

"Fight me!" I yell, aggravated. "Why won't you fight me?"

Her smile never falters, and the crystalline eyes open.

"Go on. I'm not afraid."

"Aren't you afraid of dying?" I shout, voice cracking. "What about your people? What about those you left behind?"

The power of raw emotion is overwhelming. I know I am falling down, down, into the never-ending void of insanity. I know there's no hope left for me. I hear raging thunder, and see flashes of vicious lightning.

I can't do it. I cannot.

But I will.

A promise on my lips that was never uttered, with a strangled cry, I stab my sword into her body and pull it out. She trembles; staggers, and then her legs give way and her body falls to the ground. My breathing is ragged, strangled.

The animal within me has been unleashed.

My blade is tainted with her blood, my heart is pounding out of my chest, and my mind is limp, I cannot comprehend anything.

More thunder, more lightning, more rain.

I kneel beside her limp body, shaking, cradling her in my arms. She's light, so light, too light, too gentle. Almost like a midnight dream.

Blood. So much blood. The ground is painted a furious scarlet. Scarlet tears.

"...Do you still believe that there's good in everyone?" I ask softly. My voice cracks and I bite my lip fiercely, trying not to let myself be wracked with unforgivable tears.

Her eyes open one more time. I see forgiveness, wonder, and the light is slowly, but surely, going out.

"Yes," she whispers. "I still do."

Her eyes close and her body is still.

Scarlet rivers run around me. Thunder and lightning applaud me, and I stand up, letting her go gently. I put my sword back in my sheath.

As I walk away, I don't look back. I never do.

Shadows on the moon. Tortuous whispers. Horrendous nightmares. A never-ending scarlet sunset.

I pace back and forth in the garden, remembering her words to me. Remembering what I could have done, but what I did instead.

I bite back my regret and keep it there.

For I am a Hero.

"Ah. So you did it." He smirks, approaching me. I turn around and give him a long, bitter glare.

It is my shadow, the corrupted darkness within my soul. Utter darkness, a marionette of evil, even darker than who I already am.

"..What do you want, Shadow?" My voice is far more hoarse than I thought it would.

He laughs.

"Did it feel good? Betraying who you swore to protect? Killing your princess? Do you still believe you are a Hero?"

And he pulls the last straw.

The wall of my remaining sanity crumbles, falls, fades into the scarlet sunset. I spring up, growling, and pin him against the wall, my sword to his neck.

"You are an _animal._" I hiss, swearing to wipe that smirk off his stupid face. "I will not hesitate to kill you."

He laughs.

"Go ahead."

I meet his crimson gaze with my icy blue ones, and snarl.

The beast within me emerges. I cannot take it any longer, and let it free. Growling like a savage wolf, and letting my mind be controlled by animalistic blood-lust, I cut his neck, clean.

More scarlet rivers run, and he falls to the ground. It's beautiful, the flawless scarlet color.

And in his last breath, he whispers,

"You are the animal, not I."

I step on his corpse savagely before walking back out of the garden.

"We are _both_ animals."

**...**

**Wow. What did I just write? Not as bad as **_**Painted Crimson **_**or **_**Mirror, Mirror **_**but still pretty bad. **

**I doubt I'll win, but I really enjoyed writing this! **

**Review, please! I love reviews. I will love you forever and ever and ever and ever if you review. **


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